A College Degree Is The Key To Securing Remote Work

Remote work is a staple of today’s U.S. job market, but data shows the greatest factor in deciding who lands these positions could be a college degree.

The acceptance of remote work has grown substantially, and data consistently shows that these opportunities are here to stay in the U.S. — especially in sectors where college degrees are required to land jobs.

Statista analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey and found that around 41% “of all survey participants with a Bachelor’s degree or higher said they worked remotely full-time or in part during the week before being surveyed.”

You will find more infographics at Statista

This figure is substantially different than those with only high school degrees, where 8.5% said they teleworked or worked at home for pay partially or full time. Only 4.1% of people with less than a high school degree reported the same.

The data is in line with a report published by The New York Times, that found college-educated individuals, particularly those with bachelor’s or graduate degrees, are more likely to enjoy the flexibility of working from home than those without them.

Statista reports that the share employees who worked 100 percent remotely increased by 1.3 percentage points between October 2022 and June 2024.

Even post-pandemic, the preference for remote and hybrid models continues to grow. The Flex Index report for Q2 2024 found that 37% of U.S. companies have adopted a structured hybrid model, which is a notable increase from 20% in the previous year. This outpaces the 31% of companies that require full-time in-office work, and the 32% of companies that are fully flexible.

The persistent growth overall in the workplace reveals a deeper transformation in how and where we work, and it’s showing itself to be greatly influenced by education level.